“Every time I’m out with the (Free Mom Hugs) banner, I meet more youth and young adults who need reassurance that they are not alone, that there are people who love and support them,” said Sara Cunningham, who tells of the tears of teens and older adults alike, many of whom haven’t even spoken to their moms and families in years. “I also meet parents who need to be encouraged on their path of loving and accepting their LGBTQ kids. That’s the message we will carry along with our banner.”

In the beginning Sara was going to Pride Parades and other local events handing out Free Mom Hugs to LGBTQ people who needed to know they were loved and accepted.

Then last year she got the crazy idea to travel across the United States and hand out even more hugs … and with a little help from some friends she did it.

Now she is ready to do it again.

This year’s adventure will begin in Oklahoma City in May and from there the tour will stop at 9 other cities where lots of Free Mom Hugs will be given out along the way with some resources and information to help friends, families, educational institutions and local leaders know how to best support LGBTQ people in their community.

On May 13, Mother’s Day, they will spend time at the Matthew Shepard site in Laramie, Wyoming as a special tribute to LGBTQ people and their friends and family members who love and support them.

Here is a press release that has lots more details. Please share it if you can!!

PRESS RELEASE:

Free Mom Hugs is a non-profit group of Christian moms who love our LGBTQ kids unconditionally, and take those hugs of love and acceptance to others. We also provide resources and education for LGBTQ youth, as well as parents, family, faith leaders, education providers and more.

Last year, founder Sara Cunningham, author of How We Sleep at Night, took the Free Mom Hugs banner on its first national tour, ending at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. She met with educators at a public library in Ohio, cooked homemade dumplings for the largely LGBTQ residents of a homeless shelter in Pennsylvania, and offered hugs across the street from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. Free Mom Hugs was officially the first organization ever to be awarded a permit to exercise their First Amendment Rights at Stonewall Inn, where most believe the gay civil rights movement began.

May 4-19, Cunningham will take the Free Mom Hugs banner on its second annual tour across the country, stopping at the Matthew Shepard site in Laramie, Wyoming, on Mother’s Day. Shepard was a 22-year-old gay university student who, in 1998, who was beaten, tortured and left to die. Cunningham and her gay son, Parker, will share their stories with civic, faith and business leaders, and share their hugs with the local LGBTQ communities.

Robert Clancy said, “We all have the capacity to be a superhero… The cape and mask are optional accessories, but a kind heart is essential.”

There are a lot of superheroes in Serendipitydodah for Moms – the private facebook group for moms of lgbtq kids. They may not don a cape and mask but they do have some of the biggest, kindest hearts I’ve ever witnessed.

Not only do these moms love and support their own lgbtq kids but they often dream up ways of sharing their love with others.

Here are a few examples …

One mom in the group wanted to find a way to offer support to young lgbtqi people who have been rejected by their family – so, she started a project called the Banner Blanket Project. She delivers handmade blankets to teens and young adults who have experienced the loss of their support system based on their lgbtqi status. Her project was inspired by the scripture in Song of Solomon that says “his banner over me is love” Her goal is to show God’s love in a practical way. #BannerBlanketProject

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A mom shared with the group how her child was being bullied at school and was receiving a lot of horrible text messages from other kids at their school. One Mama Bear in Serendipitydodah stepped up and is organizing a project that will result in the child who was being bullied receiving a bunch of cards with encouraging messages from a large number of moms in the group. She is organizing the project so 2 or 3 cards a day will be delivered over a period of several weeks! #MamaBearLove

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Another mom in the group started “the “Free Mom Hugs Tour” this year. The idea of moms in the group giving out free mom hugs started a while ago. Moms in the group often go to pride parades, gay bars, gay christian conferences and other places looking for the opportunity to give free mom hugs to lgbtq people. One mom took the idea to a whole other level. She toured across the country during the week before mother’s day this year and stopped in several cities along the way to meet with community leaders and parents of lgbtq kids in order to help them learn about how important it is for lgbtq people to have support from their families and the communities they live in. On the last day of the tour she arrived at The Stonewall Inn in New York City on Mother’s Day. She plans on doing it again in 2018. #FreeMomHugs

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There are SO many more stories I could share with you. These are just three examples of superheroes that are a part of the Serendipitydodah for Moms Facebook group.

I’m constantly amazed and blown away by the passion and compassion of the wonderful moms who belong to the group. Not only do they love their own kids well but they are changing the world with their loving kindness.

I’ve heard it said “when a gay child comes out of the closet, the parents go into theirs.” It’s true. I spent five years in “that closet” tending to my heart that was willing to fully embrace my son while wrestling with my faith and the spiritual implications that condemned him.

My name is Sara Cunningham and my son Parker is gay. He officially came out to me when I was in the middle of a personal split from a church I called home for 20 years and at the same time the world’s attention was on the Gay/Human Rights conflict between the Church and State.

I now know what it feels like to be walking in the wilderness in the form of alienation from church and society and searching for the Promised Land in the form of hope and acceptance.

It took me five years to go on a twenty block journey that started at the church located at NW 16th and Villa and ended at the Pride Parade at NW 39th and Penn. I was longing for the Lord’s favor and found that it never left me or my son. It was at Oklahoma City Pride parade that I stood alongside my husband in support of our gay son that inspired the writings of the last chapter in my book “How We Sleep at Night – A mother’s memoir”.

Some pivotal moments in coming to terms with accepting my gay child included:

1. Seeing others accept my son when I couldn’t or wouldn’t.

2. Hearing my son say the words “I’ve sucked it up for 21 years being your son and now I need you to suck it up and be my mom.”

3. Realizing that no one has searched the Scriptures, the heart of God or themselves more than the LGBTQ Christian or their mother.

Today I am not only the proud, loving Mom of an LGBTQ child, I hope to be a powerful advocate and ally.

I offer “Free Mom Hugs” at Pride parades and am committed to putting a face on the Transgender community, one that I consider to be precious and most misunderstood.

I have a private Facebook group for moms of LGBTQ kids. We have more than 1,600 moms in the group. The group was especially created for open minded Christian moms of LGBTQ kids who want to develop and maintain loving, healthy, authentic relationships with their kids. One of the bonuses of the group is that many of the moms become passionate advocates for all LGBTQ people. Sara Cunningham and Laura Beth Taylor are two of those moms! They are both passionate LGBTQ advocates who pour their hearts into working to make the world a kinder, safer place for all LGBTQ people to live and this spring they plan to hit the road and take their love and support for LGBTQ people across the country and they are calling it the “Free Mom Hugs Tour.”

Their adventure will begin in Oklahoma City and end up in New York City on Mother’s Day near the historic Stonewall Inn. Along the way they will stop at 10 cities where they will meet with local community leaders at a planned luncheon to discuss the necessity and value of supporting the LGBTQ community. Following each luncheon they will march through an area of each city with the Free Mom Hugs banner.

The purpose of the tour is to demonstrate what love and support for the LGBTQ community can look like and educate community leaders about the unnecessary risks LGBTQ children, youth and young adults face on a daily basis.

Sara and Laura put out a press release this week and it has lots more details.

Please share it if you can!!

PRESS RELEASE:

Oklahoma City, OK – On May 1, 2017, the first ever “Free Mom Hugs Tour” will launch in Oklahoma City, making its way through 10 cities and wrapping up near the historic Stonewall Inn in New York City on Mother’s Day.

The purpose of the Tour is to reassure the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning) community that they are valued and loved, and to raise awareness of their dignity and worth.

The Free Mom Hugs Tour is the brainchild of two mothers of LGBTQ children: Sara Cunningham of Oklahoma City and Laura Beth Taylor of Dayton, Tenn. Cunningham, the parent of a gay man and author of How We Sleep at Night, is a well-known advocate for participating in PRIDE events, carrying her “Free Mom Hugs” banner. When she reached out to Taylor, a transwoman who is the parent of LGBTQ children and author of Shattering Masks, the plan took shape.

“This isn’t a march; we’re not setting out to protest something, but rather to attest that all people – regardless of the margins in which they find themselves – are deserving of love, dignity and compassion,” Taylor explains. “Our goal is to express that in each city we visit as we encourage others to do so, too. It’s a simple exercise of loving our neighbors,” she adds.

Cunningham notes, “Every time I’m out with the banner, I meet more youth and young adults who need reassurance that they are not alone, that there are people who love and support them. I also meet parents who need to be encouraged on their path of loving and accepting their LGBTQ kids. That’s the message we will carry along with our banner.”

The event will include a luncheon for civic and faith leaders in each community along the Tour, followed by carrying the Free Mom Hugs banner through an area. Cities on the Tour include May 1 – Oklahoma City, Okla.; May 2 – Tulsa, Okla.; May 4 – Kansas City, Mo.; May 5 — St. Louis, Mo.; May 6 – Indianapolis, Ind.; May 8 – Cincinnati, Ohio; May 9 – Columbus, Ohio; May 11 – Pittsburgh, Pa.; and May 13 – Philadelphia, Pa. The Tour culminates in New York City on May 14, which is Mother’s Day, near the historic Stonewall Inn, considered by many to be the birthplace of the LGBTQ equality movement. Subsequent annual Tours will conclude on Mother’s Day at other landmarks significant in the history of the LGBTQ equality movement.

The overall rate of homelessness and suicide in the LGBTQ community is nearly 10 times the rate of the general population, according to the CDC. Furthermore, it is estimated that 25 percent of LGBTQ youth who come out in religious circles are immediately turned away by their families. The Free Mom Hugs Tour will demonstrate what love and support can look like and educate community leaders about the unnecessary risks LGBTQ children, youth and young adults face on a daily basis.